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The principle of faunal succession, also known as the law of faunal succession, is based on the observation that sedimentary rock strata contain fossilized flora and fauna, and that these fossils succeed each other vertically in a specific, reliable order that can be identified over wide horizontal distances.
This difference in assemblages that appeared identical at first, lead to the principle of faunal succession, where fossil organisms succeed one another in a definite and determinable order, and therefore any time period can be categorized by its fossil extent.
The principle of faunal succession is based on the appearance of fossils in sedimentary rocks. As organisms exist at the same time period throughout the world, their presence or (sometimes) absence may be used to provide a relative age of the formations in which they are found.
The principle of faunal succession is used in biostratigraphy to determine each biostratigraphic unit, or biozone. The biostratigraphic unit is a section of geological strata that is defined on the basis of its characteristic fossil taxa or faunal assemblage. Faunal assemblages are also analyzed in archaeological deposits, where they are ...
Strata from widespread locations containing the same fossil fauna and flora are said to be correlatable in time. Biologic stratigraphy was based on William Smith's principle of faunal succession, which predated, and was one of the first and most powerful lines of evidence for, biological evolution.
In geology, a succession is a series of strata or rock units in chronological order. Rock successions can be seen in cross sections through rock , for example in a road cut or cliff . With sedimentary layers of rocks, newer units will be above older units, except in cases of inversion .
Le Règne Animal; establishing the fields of stratigraphy and comparative anatomy, and the principle of faunal succession in the fossil record; making extinction an accepted scientific phenomenon; opposing theories of evolution; popularizing catastrophism: Scientific career: Fields: Natural history, paleontology, anatomy: Institutions
This principle allows sedimentary layers to be viewed as a form of the vertical timeline, a partial or complete record of the time elapsed from deposition of the lowest layer to deposition of the highest bed. [19] The principle of faunal succession is based on the appearance of fossils in sedimentary rocks. As organisms exist during the same ...